depressed with the current monitors

[christian zurwiehe]

Hello everyone, I currently have a Small HD 703 UB on my rig. Unfortunately, this has been in service for 1.5 months and there is currently no reliable statement as to when this could come back. the display sometimes went black for no reason and you had to restart it, the joystick sometimes stopped working and in my opinion it was too dark at full brightness.

Do I now have to buy a second 703 UB so that I always have a working one or should I rather take a different one?

The problem is that I also love the transvideo monitors but I don't want to have a 6" monitor and I've had pretty bad experiences with the 8".

is there anyone here who has the stargate and can recommend it? I mean 800nit in sunlight, maybe someone from California ;)

(by the way, the transvideo would also have tally and horizon)

or then as a backup or as the first monitor the TVLogic with 3600nit?

I work outside a lot.

Thank you guys

[Maxwel Fisher]

While I don't live in California, I have an older generation 8" transvideo (1000nits I think) that I use for backup and even in Georgia I can't see much of anything in direct sunlight so I'm not sure 800nit is what you're looking for. I don't own one, but from what I've heard, the Boland BVB07 has a good weight (you can also add a battery mount to the back), is incredibly bright and the off axis view is pretty solid. They're also a bit cheaper than the 703 UB ($2,250 vs $2,999 US). 

I did a little bit of searching on the forum about the TV Logic F-7H (the one you're referring to). Somethings that came up were the off axis view was not as good as the 703 UB and that it also get's alarmingly hot when running for a while as if the housing is a heatsink (think Teradek).

Is there a reason why you don't want a 6" monitor?

[Gerald Piesch]

Hi Christian!

Actually I‘m a newbie in the field of steadicam - and am just awaiting the delivery of my first rig! Regarding the monitor I went for a Smartsystem SM7-3K-Z! It‘s 7“! 3000Nits! Aluminium housing! With electronic horizon! And compared to Transvideo reasonable priced! It should come glossy - but if you call them right away they accidentally got non-glossy panels from Swit - you might choose! But I have no experience regarding the quality as I still wait for mine! But Smartsystem offers great support in my opinion! And as you are from Germany it‘s even easier! When I receive my rig I can post some pictures of the monitor! 
Liebe Grüße aus Wien 

Gerald

[Michael Stumpf]

I bought the Boland BVB07 and had it for one day.  It's bright for sure but it has 5 little fans inside it with a fan on/off switch in the back that you switch on or off as needed.  Problem is that only works for 4 of the 5 fans.  The 5th fan stays on all the time.  I talked to them about it and they said the current generation is much brighter (3000+ nits) and therefore it required a cooling fan.  But even with that one fan going, in a quiet room standing 6-7 feet away from it, I could hear the humming.  It won't work as a Steadicam monitor, the sound department will have a fit.  They were kind enough to take it back and Boland wanted to hear my input.  I told him without the ability to turn that fan completely off while indoors, the monitor is a no-go for the work we do.  He said he'll take that advice and work on it.  I suggested an ability to turn it off and have a lower brightness mode for indoor work that won't cook the monitor with no fan on.

The reliability of SmallHD has always been my concern.  The issue is SmallHD doesn't actually make their monitors, but rather sources all the parts for it (much Chinese made I'm sure) and then puts them together, then sells them for the profit.  So reliability of their hodgepodge monitors is hit or miss, much of the time miss.  Don't get me wrong, I have a 703UB myself, because it's the standard now, but a back up is surely necessary.  And in a bind, they are also usually stocked at a rental house too.  The SmallHD is nowhere near the reliability of say my old Nebtek Solar HD7 SC.  I used that monitor for 13 years with the digital level, in all kinds of conditions, never once went down, never once needed maintenance.  I only went to the SmallHD last month because after 13 years of use the image of my Nebtek deteriorated in the last year or so, so the colors were desaturated and the brightness was 30% less than what it was at new and became extremely hard to see in outdoors.  I believe that monitor was 1500 nits when new.

By the way, I've been using the beta digital horizon on the 703UB and it actually works quite well.  Only issue is, it's a bit laggy where my Nebtek digital horizon was like a bubble level, moved immediately upon the slightest tilt, where the SmallHD you tilt and a split second later it moves, if you put it on the highest sensitivity it's then to jumpy.

The SmartSystem monitor looks like a good option, couple issues I see though.  As mentioned above, unknown reliability (though couldn't be much worse than SmallHD), it's $500+ more than 703UB, and it's basically twice the weight of the 703UB.

Edited October 24, 2022 by Michael Stumpf

[WillArnot]

I’m also in the Monitor dilemma.  I’ve had pretty great success with the Boland7”.  It has the best non-glare screen.  It’s not wicked bright but I’ve never had issues outside with brightness.  I experience California sun!  They must have upgraded the Nits hence requiring the fans as neither of my 2 have fans so there’s no issue for sound.  I love the weight.  It’s in between a 703 and Trans8”.

The biggest downfall IMO is that the casing is really sub par in weather conditions.  Lots of holes for venting, which obviously are not good for moisture.  So even if you are covered up for rain work the heat condensation in a bag can build up and cause problems.

Hence I’ve been looking at the 8” Transvideo for the bomber build quality.  Probably heaviest LCD for Steadi, but with shorter posts these days thats not a bad thing.  I see a ton of guys running a battery on back of 703.  Never needed on my Boland.  But I can’t get over the 4:3 still and wasted space below picture, which hosts a ton of electronic stuff I don’t want.

703.  I’ve always hesitated for the over pricing, too light for steadi without a battery, reliability as described. On up side they are everywhere.  I love the tools for formatting/cropping out on screen data etc. 

I keep hearing Transvideo are going to do the 8” in 16x9 finally.  Any hard info on this anyone?  Who is the contact in LA? Still Marianne?

I actually do have the 7” Stargate.  I was sorta horrified at the off angle viewing.  And the glossy screen really screwed me a couple of times.  So I went to the Boland and Stargate is still basically brand new in case for few years now as backup.  Nice build quality and small form factor.

[Alec Jarnagin SOC]

Knock wood, I have had mostly good luck with Small HD. Yes, they are a bit of a glare magnet, but the brightness and tools within are just fabulous. I have a jacked-up LUT on a page for extra viewability for "those" exterior days. I own two 703UBs and one 503UB. One 703 lives on my XCS sled via Chris Haarhoff's excellent mounting bracket. That monitor also has an ATAMOS recorder on the back for a bit of extra (and useful) ballast.

My second 703 is used for Studio Mode. I keep a Cam-Jam quick release mount on the right side making for quick on/offs to a heavy duty NOGA arm. On the bottom lives an XCS Universal mount so I can swap it to the sled in seconds (with battery on back to approximate my main monitor with ATAMOS).

My 503 plays double duty as well being used as a smaller monitor for Studio Mode (same Cam-Jam mount) or as a low mode monitor on the sled.

At least with this system, I get use from all the monitors so nothing is "just" backup.